Factors affecting breastfeeding duration in Greece: What is important?

Aim: To investigate factors associated with breastfeeding duration (BD) in a sample of mothers living in Greece.

Methods: Four hundred and twenty-eight mothers (438 infants) were initially recruited in a tertiary University Hospital. Monthly telephone interviews (1665 in total) using a structured questionnaire (one for each infant) were conducted until the sixth postpartum month.

Immigrant status as important determinant of breastfeeding practice in southern Europe.

Aim: Breastfeeding is universally accepted as the optimal way to nourish infants. There is evidence that socio-demographic factors, including immigrant status, are related to infant feeding practices. The aim of the present study was to identify the factors which are associated with breastfeeding initiation and duration, with special focus on the role of immigrant status of the mother in breastfeeding practice.

Factors affecting breast-feeding initiation in Greece: What is important?

Objective: to investigate the association between breast-feeding initiation and socio-demographic, lifestyle-related, clinical and lactation-related factors in a sample of mothers living in Greece.

Design: cross-sectional study.

Setting: Tertiary University Hospital, maternity ward.

Treating common ear problems in pregnancy: what is safe?

In everyday practise, more than 80% of pregnant women receive one at least medication, often for ENT causes. The aim of the present paper is to review the literature on safety and administration of medical treatment for ear diseases, in pregnant women. The literature review includes Medline and database sources.

Indices of low-grade chronic inflammation in polycystic ovary syndrome and the beneficial effect of metformin.

Background: Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have an increased prevalence of insulin resistance (IR) and related disorders. Elevated serum levels of cellular adhesion molecules (CAMs) reflect low-grade chronic inflammation and have been associated with several insulin-resistant states. The objective of this study is to investigate whether soluble inflammatory markers [soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (sE-selectin), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) and C-reactive protein (CRP)] are altered in PCOS and to further elucidate the effect of metformin treatment on their levels.